Paints Me Blue
by punkcatwitissues
Summary: The crew discovers something new about River. As usual, Jayne is blamed.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Takes place after OiS. Some movie elements may be worked in eventually. I also happen to be of those who believe River would have been at least 18, probably 19 at the time of the BDM. Just for the record. :)**  
**

**Paints Me Blue**

**Chapter One**

_Two by two, he paints me blue…_

Jubal Early is not dead, River can sense it. She can't explain this sense, nor can she explain to the others why she can't sleep alone anymore.

Simon isn't happy that the drugs he's been giving her don't seem to be working anymore. He spends day and night in the lab, peering into microscopes and making scribbled notations on scraps of paper that don't seem to go in any particular order.

River lets him go on working, even though she knows he can't help her anymore.

Simon will be really angry when he finds out she isn't taking the little pink and white pills anymore.

It isn't right. She can't explain, but she knows. She just _knows._

No one understands anymore. The others think she is a child, or an assassin, depending on what day you speak with them. Kaylee had been her friend, River's first real friend, but now she is scared.

Jubal Early made her more fearful, with his threats and ever calm voice. River wishes he was dead, wishes the voices would go away, wishes she could be a normal girl.

Normal is a funny word. River wants to be normal like Kaylee and Inara and Zoë, but most times they aren't quite normal either. Kaylee knows more about ship engines than any man, and Inara knows more about any man than they knew about engines. River understands Zoë best. Zoë saw bad things in the war, bad things that make her frown when she thinks no one is looking.

River can understand the frowning.

The corridor is empty, the metal cold on River's bare feet. She likes her feet bare, prefers to feel the ground under her body, to prove she is there. She doesn't feel real when she can't feel the ground. The ground might not be there and she would never know, not if she cannot feel it.

Her sense of feel seems to be the only one left that has been unaffected by the Change. The Change was bad, not at first, but later when They took away her heart and made her be Different.

River's eyes are heavy but she can not close them. Simon is in the med lab, asleep over his scribblings again. She can't close her eyes there. Too much shine and things that made her Remember.

Remembering is bad.

River pauses by Kaylee's bunk. Kaylee would be kind, but there is be fear in her dreams tonight. River has enough fear of her own, tonight is not the night to be comforted by another's fear.

No, it cannot be Kaylee.

Mal is… Mal. He thinks too loud, too violently. Zoë and Wash have each other, and Inara's shuttle just feels too far. River is so tired, she just wants to sleep.

There is only one more door, one more ladder, one more bunk.

"No touching guns," River whispers as she soundlessly steps down the ladder.

She stares at the figure huddled under a thin blanket on the bunk. She can almost hear what Mal would say if he could see her now.

"No touching Jayne," she whispers, and sits on the floor, cross-legged beside the sleeping man. She eases his head off the single pillow and curls up in a ball on the bare floor beside him, her head on his pillow.

There is only one place where she is safe, only one place where she can sleep.

Jayne hated mornings, or rather waking up in general since it was hard to distinguish "morning" in space. It was always cold, and there was always something to wake up to that he didn't want.

Such as the biggest gorram neck crick Jayne had ever had in his life.

He sat up with a groan, taking notice of his nice fluffy pillow mocking him from the floor. "Great", he muttered. "No wonder my neck feels like it's gonna pop off. My gorram pillow's on the ruttin' floor."

"Good morning, sunshine." Wash's voice came through the intercom. "Suppose our big bad mercenary could grace us with his presence in the med bay?"

Jayne jabbed for the 'talk' button. "This had better be important," he growled.

"Oh it is. Trust me."

Trust him. Ha, Jayne thought. It was never smart to trust Wash when he had that tone to his voice. Jayne wasn't no fool.

He yanked on the nearest pair of pants that might be clean and a black t-shirt, grimacing as his neck stretched in another uncomfortable position. It wouldn't be a pleasant day, Jayne just knew it.

He had no idea.

The entire crew was crammed in the tiny space of the med lab. Wash was smirking from a corner, Mal was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed, Inara and Kaylee were sitting off to one side, Book was standing behind them, River was sitting on the examining table swinging her legs and looking innocent while Simon was standing beside her. His arms were crossed and he looked furious.

"I didn't do it," Jayne decided to lead with. "I swear!"

Simon shrugged. "Nah mei guan-shee."

Jayne blinked, then turned to Mal. "Does someone want to tell me exactly what I'm being blamed for?"

"Swam," River said suddenly. "Swam until there was no more ocean."

"Wonderful." Jayne rolled his eyes. "Does anyone have any idea what is gorram going on?"

"Apparently someone knocked River up," Wash said, somewhat gleefully.

"That's nice, but what does that have to do with…. Oh no!" Jayne took a step back and shook his head vehemently. "You are not pinning that on me! I ain't touched her."

Mal frowned. "Now that's real interesting, considerin' this morning Inara saw her climbin' out of _your_ bunk."

"My bunk?" Jayne repeated. "Dung ee-miao! What was she doin' in my bunk?"

Kaylee gave a sheepish smile. "That's pretty much what we were wondering."

"I did not…" Jayne backed up until there was no more room and his back hit the wall. "I did not touch her, Simon, I swear. I don't know what she was doing in my bunk but it has nothing to do with her-" His gaze dropped to her stomach. "Are you sure?"

"Sure?" Simon nodded. "Considering that I was so dumbfounded I ran her blood work through twelve times, yeah, I think I'm pretty sure."

Jayne stared in shock at River, who was staring at something on the floor with a half smile on her face. "I didn't do it… I swear!"

Simon was still standing there, eerily calm, a fact which was terrifying Jayne more and more by the second. "You're the only one it could be," he stated. "Wash wouldn't dare, Book was in Haven, not that he would have anyway, and I'm her brother. I'm afraid you're the logical choice."

"W-what about Mal?" Jayne stammered, beginning to feel somewhat claustrophobic.

"Oh no," Mal shook his head and laughed. "Nice try, my friend, but you're not pinning this on me. I'm not _that_ hard up."

"Neither am I!" Jayne exclaimed.

Inara stepped past the fighting men and crouched down in front of River's knees. "River, honey, do you know how you got pregnant?"

River nodded slowly.

"Well, then who did it?" Mal demanded, throwing his hands up in the air.

Inara shot him a dirty look. "Its okay, River. We just want to know."

River's arms encircled her stomach and Jayne felt his stomach drop. Those baggy dresses of hers had been concealing a definite bump on her tiny frame. She really was pregnant, he realized, watching her as she caressed her belly and stared off into space.

"Jayne," River whispered softly. She didn't know what to do. Jayne would be angry with her, she knew that much, but it was the only thing she could say. "Jayne."

An hour later, Jayne was once again in his bunk, staring at the wall. Sure River was crazier than a rabid armadillo, but he hadn't realized her grip on reality was quite that loose.

The thought of him sleeping with her was just absurd. She was just a kid!

Technically she'd turned eighteen the week before, but….still! There were some lines you just didn't cross and cradle robbing was one of them.

The door to his bunk opened and footsteps could be heard.

"Get up here!" Mal's slightly angry voice demanded.

Jayne groaned. Oh this day was just getting better and better.

When he reached the top of the ladder he found Mal wasn't alone in the corridor. He was joined by River, Simon, Wash, and Kaylee. He supposed it was slightly better that the rest of the crew had decided not to join them.

Then he noticed that Kaylee and Wash were smiling.

Jayne gave them a strange look. "What in Lucifer's britches is gorram going on?" he wanted to know.

"Well," Mal smiled, the knowing smile which always meant he was about to say something the other person didn't want to hear, "Simon here was feeling a mite miffed about you deflowering his baby sister and all, and he had some right interesting ideas about how we were supposed to deal with you."

"One involved grapefruit spoons," Wash contributed.

Jayne glared at him.

"So," Mal continued, "then our Kaylee had an idea that while much less violent, seemed as if it would provide the same amount of entertainment."

Jayne continued to stare at them with a confused expression on his face.

Mal pushed River in front of him. "Here ya go. By the power invested in me as the captain of this here boat, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Several choice phrases slipped from Jayne's mouth. "Huh?"

"Well, it ain't exactly legal." Mal shrugged. "But we figure it's legal enough for an old mercenary like you, and Simon's appeased so I don't have to listen to his yappin' anymore."

Jayne looked like he was going to faint.

"Oh yeah, and now the crazy girl is your responsibility." Mal grinned. "That just might be my favorite part."

River loves being barefoot. She likes walking around the ship, feeling its 'essence' below her body. Walking in the dark is even more rewarding. Although she knows exactly where each piece of furniture, each step is, she feels along the floor delicately with one toe, memorizing the structure.

Soon walking in the dark is not enough. She can still see a little, small pieces of light coming from equipment and such, so she closes her eyes.

Now it is truly dark, and she smiles to herself as she silently steps down the stairs into the dining area. Two small steps to the left would take her to the table, one to the right would touch the wall. River's feet carry her straight.

Suddenly the room is not dark anymore. Without opening her eyes, River knows that someone has turned on an overhead light. She is no longer alone, and she stops.

There should be nothing between her and another wall, but she senses an object.

Jayne wasn't sure what he was expecting when he flipped on the light switch, but it sure wasn't River's nose barely a millimeter from his chest. He started, and pushed her away. "Gorramit, girl! You trying to give me a heart attack?!"

River opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Your heart is fine," she said. "No attack."

Jayne rolled his eyes. "Well, not now." He sighed. "What are you doing here in the dark anyways? You're gonna trip over something and bleed, and then your brother is going to slit my throat."

"I will not let Simon hurt you," she said softly. "He doesn't understand."

"He's not the only one," Jayne muttered. "And for the record, I don't need you protectin' me little girl. I can do just fine on my own."

"No you can't."

"Yes, I can."

"No."

"Yes!" Jayne shook his head. "Look at what I'm doing, fighting with the crazy girl."

"She is less crazy than you think." River smoothed down her thin white nightgown and stared at the floor, at her feet just peeping out from underneath the long sleeveless garment.

Jayne crossed his arms. "Not ruttin' likely. Now what are you doin' down here anyhow?"

"Jayne hungry."

"Of course _I'm_ hungry, why else do you think I'm down here."

River didn't correct him. "I wanted some food."

Jayne opened a cupboard and pulled out a slice of bread (actually protein shaped like bread, but a likely enough simile). "Here. Eat it." He shoved the piece of bread into her hand.

River took a tiny bite.

"Go to bed." Jayne flopped down into a chair and nearly growled when River plopped herself in his lap. "Wuh de ma! What are you doin' girl?!"

"Waiting."

"For what?"

River stared at him, unblinking. "Instruction. Simon gave me to you."

Jayne leaped up, expecting to knock her to the floor, but instead she sprang upon her feet like a rubber ball. "I ain't your keeper, girl."

"Captain says you are. We're supposed to obey the captain."

Jayne snorted. "Well, I ain't. I mean to give him a piece of my mind in the mornin', for dropping you on me like that. In fact, I oughtta push you outta the airlock for telling them I was the one who put that babe in your belly."

River didn't answer.

"Why did you do that?" Jayne crossed his arms again and stared at her. "I know you're off your rocker but you've got to know as well as I do that I ain't never done anythin' like that."

River stared at him for a moment, then closed her eyes and rocked backwards on her heels. "Two by two…" she whispered.

"Aw, gorrammit!" Jayne rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm. "Don't you be startin' that now. I'm putting you to bed. On the floor." He pulled her out of the room. "And without my gorram pillow this time…"

She smiled secretly at her feet. Jayne was so predictable.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"I'm a bad brother."

Kaylee leaned back into the chair and rolled her eyes. "Simon, you are not a bad brother."

"I'm worse than a bad brother."

"Simon-"

"Have I mentioned I feel incredibly guilty?" Simon paced back and forth on the rug before her. "My baby sister is in her time of need and I dump her in the lap of the most dangerous man in the world."

Kaylee reached out and grabbed his hand. "You gotta stop beatin' yourself up over this, Simon. I'm actually pretty proud that you didn't just kill him."

"Yeah, but by punishing him I'm punishing River!" Simon sat down beside her. "She didn't do anything."

"Do you really think he," Kaylee paused, "forced himself on her?"

"Yes. No. I don't know!" Simon pushed his other hand through his short brown hair. "I'm trying to decide which way I prefer."

Kaylee smiled a little. "She'll be fine, Simon. Jayne won't hurt her, I can guarantee you that."

"How?"

Kaylee's smile widened. "'Cause our big tough Jayne is more than a little afraid that your mei mei's gonna kill him."

Simon couldn't help laughing. "I suppose there's no reason why she couldn't really kill him with her brain if she wanted."

"That's the spirit." Kaylee slapped him on the back. "Now stop worryin' a hole in that carpet and help me think of all the ways we can spoil your new niece or nephew."

Simon froze. "I hadn't thought about that."

"I didn't think you had. You're too busy thinkin' bout the bad you forget there's good in every situation."

"Thanks." Simon squeezed her hand. "I needed that."

"Me too," Kaylee whispered softly.

"Night, mei mei." Simon released Kaylee's hand and planted an all too brotherly kiss on her forehead.

Kaylee rolled her eyes. "One of these days I'm gonna go tyen shiao duh on that man."

Jayne threatens the whole way back to his bunk to make River sleep on the floor, but he actually does not fight very hard when she wordlessly climbs in beside him.

He moves away from her, hugging the wall in attempt not to touch her. Soon he is asleep and his body relaxes, no longer avoiding touch.

River moves closer, molding her side to Jayne's back and enjoying the warmth. Jayne snores softly, but she does not sleep. Instead she stares into the black and listens to the whir of the ship and the snore of the Jayne.

Jayne is angry at her for telling everyone that the baby was his, but River has no choice. There is no one else on the ship that could (or would) believably have impregnated her, and she had to give an answer.

She does not lie without reason. River knows what she is doing and is exactly where she wants to be, with Jayne, in his bunk, safe.

She rubs her stomach as the butterfly beneath her skin flutters, soothing River. "Jayne will keep us safe, bao bei," she murmurs, drifting off. "He will keep his girls safe."

"All right, Captain, you hailed." Wash was the last one to sit down at the large wooden table. "What wild, exciting, and highly illegal job do you have for us today?"

Mal spread a blueprint on the table. "We're robbin' a bank."

Wash frowned. "That's it?"

"No." Mal spread another blueprint beside the first. "We're robbin' a really big bank."

"Yippee, Captain," Kaylee said, leaning over the table to examine the blueprints.

Jayne crossed his arms. "Aw, Mal, I'm sick of robbing banks. Couldn't we knock off a vault or something for a little variety?"

"No," Mal told him. "This here bank is a solid stash of easy money and I'm not about to pass it up just because my crew doesn't find it to their likin'."

Zoe sighed. "All right, Captain, what's the plan?"

River was sitting beside Jayne and listened intently as Captain Mal told the crew about his plan for robbing the Persephone Grand National Bank on one of the outer planets. It seemed the richest of the rich in Persephone liked to do their banking transactions in the outer planets because they thought it to be safer than the banks in the central planets.

The captain was about to prove them wrong.

River could spot a few holes in his plan, but nothing large enough to warrant pointing out. Captain Mal didn't like it when she was too smart, and he liked a little danger in his jobs anyhow.

River scooted closer to Jayne, who scooted away from her. She scooted closer again, and Jayne began to scoot away until he caught Wash, who was sitting on the other side of him, giving him a strange look. Then he remained where he was, although he gave her dirty looks when she tried to wiggle even closer.

Across the table, Simon was looking rather murderous, which made River giggle a little under her breath. Always the big brother, Simon never quite did like her growing up. He'd been so unhappy when their parents decided to let her go to the academy.

River didn't like to think about the fact that it had been her choice to go there. She's so wanted to learn, that was all she had ever wanted. And learn she did.

She learned too much.

Simon continued to glare at Mal as River climbed into the mule. He was terrified of her getting injured or killed, but River herself did not seem to be the least bit nervous as she took her place in the back beside Jayne.

"She will be fine," River told Simon, patting his hand affectionately. "The Jayne-Husband will take care of her."

Simon rolled his eyes as Jayne grunted with embarrassment, but he backed away from the mule and allowed Zoe to drive out of the ship and onto the planet.

"It'll be finer than a new coil compressor, you'll see." Kaylee came to stand next to Simon and smiled reassuringly up at him.

Simon sighed, still staring off at the cloud of dust which showed where the mule had headed off in. "What really worries me whether or not she's really safer here on the ship, living with that buffoon."

Kaylee blinked for a minute as she translated "buffoon" into "Jayne" in her brain. "Simon, I swear that man would not hurt a hair upon her head." At Simon's dubious glance she added, "He wouldn't!"

Simon turned back towards the ship. "I've been wondering if perhaps it wouldn't be better if River and I left for awhile."

"Left?" Kaylee squeaked. "Left? Like, left Serenity?"

Simon nodded.

"Well, why would you want to go and do a thing like that?"

"I'm a surgeon, Kaylee. River needs to be under the care of an obstetrician."

Kaylee bit her lip. "An obste-what?"

"A doctor that specializes in pregnancy and birth."

"Oh!" Kaylee smiled. "I was midwife to my Momma for my youngest brother and to my sister for all three of her young'uns. I'm sure between the two of us River will be just fine."

Simon could not help but smile at her exuberance and confidence that he could handle just about anything. If only he had that same confidence in himself. After all, he hadn't even been able to "fix" River in the months since he had helped her escape from the Academy. How was he going to keep her healthy during what could be a potentially dangerous (health-wise) physical condition?

Kaylee continued to look hopefully up at him. She was such a ray of sunshine, Simon mused, always thinking the best of everyone and everything.

"We'll see how everything goes," Simon told her by way of reassurance, but a little wrinkle of worry still sprung up in Kaylee's forehead.

"You're stayin', then?" she asked, moving just a little bit closer to him.

"As long as I can," Simon found himself saying in complete honesty. "As long as I can."

As the mule bumped along on the terrain of grass, dirt, and pebbles, River leaned back and enjoyed taking in the view of Plethora, a planet she had never before seen.

Unlike most of the outer rim planets, the crew of Serenity's jobs took them to, Plethora was lush and green, supporting an ecosystem of mostly forest.

River had never seen so many trees of different sizes and shapes before. She wondered why the original settlers had planted so many in one place. Was it intentional, or had they just grabbed the wrong packet of seeds? Her mind whirled with all of the possibilities.

Beside her, Jayne was not taking quite the sense of appreciation to the scenery. "Gorram trees," he snarled as a branch snapped against his arm, leaving a small spray of delicate green leaves in his lap.

River snatched the little bit of greenery from his person before he could throw it over the edge of the mule and examined it closely. Plants had always fascinated her, more so since living on Serenity. She tucked the sprig in a pocket in her dress and concentrated on the scenery before her again.

"You sure there's even a bank here?" Jayne yelled over the hum of the engine.

"Few more miles, in the center of this here wood," Mal shouted back.

River concentrated and could sense that there were indeed several people in a building exactly 2.4 miles in front of them. She shifted in her seat, proud that she was able to sense them at that distance.

"Stop wiggling around," Jayne snapped.

River raised her eyebrows at him. "Not a worm," she stated slowly.

Jayne rolled his eyes just as the mule shot through a thick patch of trees, straight into a large clearing.

"Aha!" Mal exclaimed as Zoe took a sharp right hand turn and ducked the mule in behind some thick bushes.

"Front entrance looks clear, sir," Zoe observed as everyone climbed out of the mule.

Mal nodded. "Good. Jayne, make sure River doesn't get in trouble while we're in there."

Jayne groaned. "Do I hafta?"

"She's your wife," Mal reminded him with a smirk.

"Don't remind me," Jayne muttered bitterly.

River didn't take offense to Jayne's mutterings. She knew that he had not taken her on willingly, and she was all right with that. The important thing was simply that she was under Jayne's protection, and could stay there as long as she needed to keep her and her baby safe.

Despite Jayne's gruff manner and all of his protests, he did have kindness inside of him. River could tell by more than just what she could 'sense' in his thoughts, he also showed some of the kindness outwardly.

As Mal and Zoe started off striding purposefully towards the large beige building Jayne rested his hand protectively on River's back. She ignored the impatient shove he gave her because despite that, she could sense protectiveness in his actions.

Mal and Zoe pushed open the two front doors to the building and strode inside, pointing their guns at… no one.

Zoe had an amused look in her eyes even with her grim, warrior expression.

Mal just looked annoyed. "Could somebody come out here so as I could get on with robbing them?" he called loudly.

No answer.

River closed her eyes and was concentrating as hard as she could, but she could not sense so much as a single person besides them in the building anymore.

Confused, she tilted her head up towards Jayne and looked at him. "They vanished," she said softly.

"Vanished?" Jayne exclaimed, shaking her roughly.

"Don't break our psychic," Mal warned him, and Jayne dropped his hands from her.

River seemingly had not noticed. Actually, she was still concentrating as hard as she could, trying to grab onto the consciousness of the people she had sensed before.

"Something's not right," Zoe said, turning in a circle slowly.

"There ain't even any desks or nothin'," Jayne added.

Mal nodded, agreeing. "What kind of bank doesn't have anybody or anything in it?"

River opened her eyes again, slowly. "The kind that isn't a bank," she told them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

River does not usually need to concentrate at all. The voices, the thoughts, they just come to her unbidden.

To have to reach out with her brain so hard, she finds this unusual. She tries and tries and all she can sense is Mal's annoyance, Zoe's apprehension, and Jayne's impatience.

Then suddenly, without any warning at all, River it hit by a wall of voices and thoughts and senses. Very suddenly she becomes aware of something very different than any of them was expecting.

They were not robbing a bank.

River immediately clutches onto Jayne's sleeve in horror. He is so shocked by what is happening that he does not brush her away.

Mal takes one look at River's face and begins to retreat. "Let's get out of here!" he orders, and they follow him.

Surprisingly no one appears either inside or outside the building as they make their escape.

But River curls into Jayne on the bumpy ride back to Serenity, shaking uncontrollably with a fear she cannot quite describe.

She knows that they have seen her.

And they know that she knows.

"What in gorram hell went on back there?" Mal demanded to know as soon as they were safely back on Serenity, with Wash taking them into open space as fast as he could.

River said nothing, even as he gave her his most menacing look. She simply continued to cower closer to Jayne, and Mal was about 90 sure that was because of something she knew, and not because of anything he had said.

"River?" he tried once more, without any reaction from her at all. Mal sighed. "Take her back to your room and make sure she's okay."

Jayne nodded and began to lead her away.

"Tell Simon if you think she needs a tranquilizer or something," Mal called after them.

Jayne nodded just before moving out of sight.

"What was that, sir?" Zoë asked, looking over at Mal.

Mal shook his head. "I do not have the foggiest idea. Something not good, I assume. We're just gonna have to wait until River starts talking."

"River starts talking about what?" Simon appeared in the room and strode up to where Mal and Zoë were standing. "Is River all right? What happened to make us take off like that? Did you guy do the job?"

Mal rolled his eyes. "She's fine, Jayne's watchin' her. We have no idea what happened unless River starts talking, and no, we did not do the job."

Simon's eyes widened and he disappeared in the direction of River's bunk only to return in a few seconds and head off in the opposite direction toward Jayne's bunk. Mal would have found it hilarious if he hadn't been worrying about what exactly they had stumbled upon in that bank.

Mal hit the intercom. "Wash, see if you can get a hold of Mr. Universe and find out what the heck is going on that we don't know about."

"I'm on it," was Wash's staticy reply.

"I swear, if either Fanty or Mingo knew what they were sending us into down there I am going to harm more than one hair on their pretty little heads," Mal told Zoë.

She nodded. "I don't blame you, sir."

Inara glided into the room with Kaylee looking (as usual) far more glamorous than being on the ship really required. "What's going on? I passed Jayne and River and then Simon practically shoved us aside to get to their room."

"Is River all right?" Kaylee asked nervously.

Mal sighed. "River's fine! And I'm fine too, thanks for asking." He head off towards the cockpit.

Kaylee twisted her hands together. "I'm not so sure that the captain ought to be takin' River out on jobs with her in a delicate condition and all."

"I agree." Inara frowned at Zoë. "I don't know what happened today but I do know that stress of any kind is not good for an expectant mother."

"I think the stress of being hunted by the Alliance is probably more than a girl her age should be dealing with," Zoë agreed, "pregnant or not."

Kaylee glanced back towards where she and Inara had come from. "I still can't believe our Jayne knocked that poor girl up."

"Me neither," Zoë said. "Frankly, I don't think he did it."

"Please." Inara rolled her eyes. "For once in his life Mal was right. It couldn't have been anyone but Jayne."

Zoë shrugged. "I just have a feeling, that's all."

Kaylee watched both of them. "Inara's right," she said, sticking her hands into her overall pockets. "There isn't another person on Serenity we could even suspect besides Jayne."

"I just knew he had a thing for her," Inara told them. "He was always looking at her funny."

"That was fear," Zoë remarked dryly.

Kaylee didn't hear her, she was too busy staring off into space. "Now that River and Jayne are married and all I think we should do somethin' for them. Like have a party, maybe."

"The captain won't like that." Inara's eyes twinkled. "I say we go for it."

Jayne had to practically carry River back to his bunk, the girl was shaking so hard. Luckily she was able to climb down the ladder on her own, otherwise Jayne would have had to climb down with her lithe little body slung over his shoulder.

She waited for him at the bottom and as soon as he let go of the ladder rungs she reattached herself to his side.

Jayne went over and sat down on the edge of his bunk, tugging her down with him. "You all right, girl?" he asked gruffly.

River pushed her face further into his chest. "I don't want to go back," she said softly.

"Go back where?"

Her thin arms tightened around his middle until he had trouble breathing. "Don't make us go back," she pleaded.

Jayne tipped her chin up with his forefingers to look into her tear filled eyes. "What are you talkin' about? Go back where?"

"They cut and poked." River's lower lip trembled as the tears continued running down her face. "They wouldn't stop and it hurt and hurt until they were done. Then they stuck me with needles when I dreamt until Simon came."

Jayne stared at the trembling, tearstained face before him. He wasn't sure he had ever heard her speak so long without saying something crazy. Frankly that worried him more than if she had gone off spouting random rhymes and such.

River clutched at the front of his shirt with an air of desperation. "Jayne has to keep us safe from them."

"Us?" Jayne asked, momentarily confused.

River removed one clutching hand and rested the palm low on her belly. "River and the Butterfly."

Jayne nodded. The butterfly, huh? He thought to himself. Jayne wasn't sure he had eve heard someone refer to a baby as a butterfly before, but somehow with River it seemed to fit. He couldn't help but think that it was the kind of thing his mother would appreciate.

Not that she would ever meet or hear of River, because despite the current situation he found himself in, Jayne had every intention of defying Mal and proving his innocence with regards to River's… well, innocence.

"Promise," River pleaded, grabbing Jayne's hand and putting it on her belly where her own had previously been. "Promise you will take care of the Butterfly and River."

Jayne tried to pull his hand away, but the tiny wisp of a girl held his wrist too tightly. He could feel the warmth of her body on the small mound of flesh he was touching. Jayne thought back to the last time he had seen his mother. It was also the first and only time he had ever seen his youngest sister. She'd been barely a few weeks old, all pink and wrinkly still. Jayne thought about the babe growing inside River, even smaller than his sister had been, squirming behind his hand at this very moment.

"Promise," River repeated, softer this time.

"Promise," Jayne found himself saying. "I promise I'll watch out for ya."

River let go of his wrist. "You're a good husband, Jayne Cobb," she said with a little smile.

Jayne groaned.

"What happened?" Simon demanded to know, dropping unannounced into Jayne's quarters.

Jayne looked up from the gun he was polishing. "Shh," he said, holding one finger up to his lips.

Simon looked over to the bunk where River was sound asleep, cocooned in a pile of blankets.

Jayne continued cleaning his gun. "She's fine, doc. None of your concern anyhow."

"What are you talking about?" Simon exclaimed. "She's my sister! Of course it's my concern."

"Not anymore." Jayne tossed his rag aside and carefully returned the gun to it's case. "As soon as you found out that little girl had become a woman you dumped her on the first person you could."

Simon's mouth dropped open. "I most certainly did not!"

"Did you or did you not send the captain down to marry yer 'lil sister off to me?"

"I did b-but," Simon stammered.

Jayne's eyes were cold. "You dumped her on me and now you're acting like you care?"

Simon was stunned. "I was trying to make sure you didn't leave my baby sister high and dry with your heir in her belly. I was trying to do the right thing."

"And you did," Jayne said. "And I did, so now I'm not sure what you want from me."

Simon looked over at River, still sound asleep. "The same thing I wanted when I first came to Serenity: to keep River safe."

"I will," Jayne told him. "And as soon as she tells me what happened down there on that planet I'll make sure you know of it too."

Simon nodded, semi-satisfied. "Thank you." With that (and one last glance towards the sleeping River) he left.

River was still sleeping when Mal called Jayne into the cockpit. He re-tucked the thin brown blankets around her slight body before he left the room.

"You talk to Mr. Universe, yet?" Jayne asked when he got to where Mal and Wash were waiting for him.

"Unfortunately yes," Zoë muttered, no doubt recalling Mr. Universe's habit of flirting with her via satellite.

"He's on the line," Mal told him. "We were waitin' on you before he told us what he knew."

"Jayne," Mr. Universe greeted cheerfully. "I hear you got yourself hitched recently. Maybe now you'll stop making eyes at my love bot, Lenore."

Jayne rolled his eyes and grunted a reply. He wasn't particularly amused, but they needed Mr. Universe so it paid to stay on his good side.

"We're ready to hear what you found out about that bank we were at," Wash said, his hint just un-subtle enough for Mr. Universe to get.

Mr. Universe disappeared from the screen for a moment and then ducked back into sight. "Well you definitely weren't at a bank, so it's a good thing you didn't try to rob it." Mr. Universe laughed to himself.

Mal's patience was rapidly running out. "Could you just get on with it and tell us what it was and not what it wasn't?"

"It's a government funded training facility. To be more specific, it's where your friend Ms. Tam would have been transferred to by now."

Wash glanced nervously over at Mal, who was having the same shocked reaction.

"How could you possibly know about River Tam?" Mal demanded to know.

"Aside from the fact that you just told me?" Mr. Universe asked, laughing jauntily.

"Aside from that, yes," Jayne snapped.

Mr. Universe tilted his head. "Can't stop the signal, Jayne. The second you folks hailed I was hacking into the facility's security feed. River Tam and her brother are two of the most wanted individuals by the Alliance these days. I recognized her almost immediately."

"Great," Mal muttered.

"So, you're harboring a fugitive, huh? Can I assume that also explains the sudden change in Jayne's marital status?"

Jayne lunged a little towards the screen, but Mal stopped him before he did something stupid like punching out the equipment.

"I hope Serenity's engines are running better than they usually are," Mr. Universe continued, typing and checking screens out of their view, "because you folks are going to have a fleet of Alliance ships on your tail in less than twenty four hours."

Mal turned away.

"Thanks for the good news, we'll be in touch," Was chirped before disconnecting the feed.

"What are we going to do?" Zoë asked softly, looking to Mal.

"What we ought to do is dump crazy and her brother on the first moon we come across and get our butts out of here before the gorram feds show up."

Mal turned to Jayne with a look that could have killed a lesser man. "If River gets dumped anywhere she'll be taking her brand new husband with her."

"Aw, Mal," Jayne started, but Mal interrupted him.

"I swear to you, Jayne," Mal said slowly. "If anything, and I mean anything, happens to that sweet girl then something will happen to you, do I make my self clear?"

"Sweet?" Wash mouthed to his wife from behind Mal.

Zoë shrugged.

"Do I make myself clear?"

With a scowl, Jayne nodded. Mal was pissed at him, but at least no one guessed he was getting soft.


End file.
